“United City,” engaging neighbors in a “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” experience through the co-creation of artwork for a large-scale public mural, produced by artist Wendy Mike in partnership with the Council of Neighborhood Organizations, Downtown Partnership, City Council, FutureSelf and others

About Our Project:

“United City” is designed to create community through participation in making and viewing visual art in Colorado Springs. In the first phase, the Council of Neighborhood Organizations will help identify representatives from each of Colorado Springs’ 144 unique neighborhoods to participate in a daylong Creative Engagement workshop, resulting in the creation of a quality artwork finished by selected members from each neighborhood. The finished artwork will be installed in Colorado Springs City Hall, with a commemorative special event. The next phase involves translating the finished artwork into a large-scale mural to be executed by local teens in partnership with neighborhood representatives under the guidance of a professional muralist. The mural will be installed on the outside of a building downtown, with a special celebratory unveiling event to which the entire community will be invited.

We’ll use social media so that the entire community will be kept abreast of the project as it develops. Colorado Springs residents will be able to suggest and vote online on ideas for images that they think best represent Colorado Springs as a community, and also vote on the image selected from that process that they think best embodies our community, which will then become the subject of the artwork for all phases of the project.

About Our Organization:

Artist Wendy Mike is the founder of Creative Engagement, using art to engage people in a “mind shift,” unlocking their own creative potential, expanding their capacity for problem solving, effective team interaction, and “whole brain” thinking. Wendy uses her Creative Engagement process with companies and organizations nationwide as well as with local businesses and organizations such as Leadership Pikes Peak, Artemis and Pikes Peak Community Foundation. As an artist, Wendy works in a variety of mediums, most notably large-scale, community-based art projects designed to have mass impact on perception and involvement. A resident of Colorado Springs for 16 years, Wendy is the founder of the arts nonprofit FutureSelf, which she ran for eight years before passing the reins to a new executive director.

How The Project BenefitsThe Community:

Inviting participation through Colorado Springs neighborhoods is the best possible way to achieve accurate and diverse representation of all of Colorado Springs’ citizens. It ensures that being able to be a part of “United City” is open to everyone. The whole project hinges on the ability to create a “buzz” to generate excitement about being involved in something of this scope and reach. Community-building takes place as members of diverse neighborhoods join together in creating a finished artwork that graphically represents how people of various cultures, ethnicities, economic status and political views can unite to create a finished piece of art that the entire city can enjoy and draw inspiration from.